facilities sustainment

While budget constraints have forced DOD to limit funding for facilities sustainment and recapitalization in recent years, mission readiness has not been jeopardized at eight installations the Government Accountability Office visited for a study of DOD’s efforts to maintain its facilities. Public works personnel at the installations told GAO that facilities that are critical to their missions receive first priority for maintenance and repairs. Personnel were able to provide only a handful of examples of facility conditions that hampered the ability of their installations to carry out their activities …

The House Armed Services’ Readiness Subcommittee is asking the Defense Department for an update on the condition of airfield infrastructure due to concerns that the statutory budget caps have caused DOD to shortchange investment in its facilities, according to report language in the panel’s portion of the fiscal 2017 defense authorization bill. “The committee is concerned that the risk assumed in infrastructure investments has resulted in the deterioration of runways, taxiway pavements, parking ramps, and aircraft hydrant fueling systems that may pose a safety risk to aircrews, a hazard to aircraft, and have an adverse impact on military operations and training …

The full committee version of the House Armed Services’ fiscal 2017 defense authorization bill would significantly bolster funding for facilities as part of its aim to restore shortfalls in military readiness. The legislation supports 90 percent of requirements for facilities sustainment and 88 percent of requirements for facilities restoration and modernization across DOD, an increase of 19 percentage points above the administration’s budget request in each category, according to a summary of the chairman’s mark. “Facility maintenance and sustainment is the area where the military has assumed great risk as it compensates for sharply reduced resources …

Ongoing constraints on defense spending, along with increased operational requirements, are hampering DOD’s ability to address its “aging and structurally deficient” workplace facilities, the Senate Appropriations Committee says in its report accompanying the fiscal 2017 military construction-veterans affairs spending bill. Recent facility condition assessment data reveals that about one in four defense facilities are rated as being in poor or failing condition, the lawmakers wrote. “Our limited milcon budget for fiscal year 2017 leaves limited room for projects that would improve aging workplaces and, therefore, could adversely impact routine operations and the quality of life for our personnel,” said Pete Potochney, acting assistant secretary of defense for energy, installations and environment …

Air traffic control facilities used by the Army and Air Force are falling apart and, in many locations, jeopardizing safety as the Defense Department has been forced to postpone funding for military construction, according to the House Appropriations Committee report accompanying its FY 2017 military construction-veterans affairs spending bill. “[Army] facilities are unsafe, antiquated, and do not provide adequate control, communications or observation abilities for the current air traffic levels at certain locations,” the report states. The existing facility at Fort Benning, Ga., for example, will not be able to handle the current pace of operations, requiring a replacement …

To cope with tight constraints on funding for installation support, the Army has adopted a strategy of “divest, shape and invest” to ensure scarce dollars are allocated to the service’s highest priorities, Lt. Gen. David Halverson, assistant chief of staff for installation management, said during an Association of the U.S. Army meeting held March 31. One example of a divestment under way is Fort Belvoir’s nuclear reactor, reported the Army News Service. Removing the nuclear reactor requires some upfront investment to tear it down and comply with the regulatory process, so the payoff will occur further down the road, Halverson said …